STOCK EXCHANGES
TPEX to hold HK conference
The Taipei Exchange (TPEX) yesterday said it is organizing a large overseas investors’ conference to attract more foreign institutional investors. Joining forces with Capital Securities Corp (群益金鼎證券), one of the nation’s largest securities houses, TPEX is to hold a two-day investor conference in Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday next week covering 17 companies listed on the local market, TPEX said. Representatives from a wide range of industries are to hold about 270 separate meetings with interested foreign institutional investors at the event, the exchange said. Foreign institutional investors that attend the meetings run investment funds worth about US$580 billion. After the conference in Hong Kong, the TPEX plans to hold similar events in Japan and Malaysia. Foreign institutional investors accounted for 22.6 percent of the market’s total value last year.
FASTENERS
QST to acquire Chinese unit
QST International Corp (恒耀), which produces and distributes fasteners, yesterday said it would spend US$64 million to acquire its Chinese subsidiary Boltun BVI Corp to simplify its management structure. QST has a 55 percent stake in the Chinese unit, which last year generated revenue of 770 million yuan (US$122.7 million) and a net profit of 125.16 million yuan, company data showed. The acquisition is to be complete in the third quarter of this year, QST said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The fastener maker said in a separate filing that it is planning to take out a syndicated loan of between NT$2 billion and NT$3 billion (US$68.6 million and US$102.9 million).
TELECOMS
FET unveils new rate plans
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (FET, 遠傳電信) yesterday unveiled new rate plans for subscribers, who can get free membership at Fitness Factory (健身工廠) or free training programs. FET hopes the new offering would help boost average revenue per user. FET subscribers can choose to sign a service contract with a minimum monthly fee of NT$599, NT$999 or NT$1,399 for 30 months. Most telecoms used to subsidize the price of handsets to retain users, but they have shifted their subsidies to purchases of items beyond mobile phones. Hair dryers, Dyson vacuum cleaners and Gogoro electric scooters are all on FET’s subsidy list.
HOSPITALITY
Shining opens Nanjing hotel
Shining Group (鄉林集團), the parent group of The Lalu (涵碧樓), a luxury hotel brand, yesterday opened a new property in Nanjing, China, as it seeks to boost its presence in the Chinese market and on the world stage. The Lalu Nanjing is the brand’s third outlet after the Lalu Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County and a property in China’s Qingdao. Shining Group chairman Lai Cheng-yi (賴正鎰) said the group is separating its property development from its hospitality business as the latter grows in scale and earnings contribution. The hospitality arm next plans to open an outlet in Chengdu and is mulling a Chinese initial public offering.
STEELMAKERS
Yieh Phui proposes dividend
Yieh Phui Enterprise Co (燁輝) yesterday said its management team has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$0.2 based on last year’s net profit of NT$1.37 billion, or earnings per share of NT$0.75. The firm plans to hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 21 to discuss the dividend proposal. Yieh Phui shares yesterday edged up 0.47 percent to close at NT$10.8 in Taipei trading.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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